Electric shaver



R. W. REICH ELECTRIC SHAVER July 27, 1965 Filed May 8, 1963 INVENTOR. KOBEKT W AE/C r.

United States Patent 3,197,612 ELECTRIC SHAVER Robert W. Reich, Merzhauserstr. 143, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany Filed May 8, 1963, Ser. No. 278,884 4 Claims. (Cl. 219223) The invention relates to apparatus for removal of hair and more particularly to shaving apparatus for removing hair while minimizing skin irritation.

In the present day conventional electric dry shavers, hair removal is accomplished by means of mechanical cutters. Such cutters usually undesirably irritate the skin of the user.

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide electric dry shaving apparatus which removes hair without the use of cutting means.

It is a further object to provide an electric shaver having no moving parts so as to provide for ease of construction and maintenance.

Still another object is to provide an electric dry shaver capable of giving a closer shave than conventional electrical dry shavers while minimizing irritation of the skin of the user.

The invention involves providing an electrical shaver equipped with a guide plate having slits defined therein for receiving hair. For each hair receiving slit a pair of thin wires is mounted directly behind the guide plate adjacent the slit. A high frequency generator creates a high frequency flux field between such wires and across the hair slot. Hair entering the slit comes into the influence of the high frequency field and is by induction heating instantly burnt off.

Features and advantages of the invention will be seen from the above, from the following description of the preferred embodiment when considered in conjunction with the drawing and from the appended claims.

In the drawing:

'FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic view in perspective of an electric shaver embodying the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic wiring diagram of the circuitry of the shaver of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, wherein the preferred embodiment is illustrated :as consisting of a casing in which two batteries, each designated B, and a high frequency generator designated generally HFG are enclosed. The uppermost portion of casing 10 consists of a guide plate 12 having hair slits 14 defined therein for receiving the shavers hair. If desired, guide plate 12 may be of archshaped construct-ion and slits 14 may be arranged in a variety of different directions provided that the hairs of the beard can enter the slits 14. Thin wires designated a and b are arranged in pairs behind guide plate 12 on opposite sides of each hair slit 14 and closely adjacent thereto. Wires a and b are electrically isolated from each other. Wires a of each pair are interconnected to form an antenna, generally designated A1, While wires b are interconnected electrically to form antenna A2. Antennae A1 and A2 are connected to the high frequency generator HFG. KS on the side of casing 10 designates a manual switch for interconnecting batteries B to high frequency generator HFG, as shown in FIG. 2. Y

High frequency generator HFG includes a two stage, capacitively coupled transistor amplifier. Q designates a quartz crystal of a predetermined characteristic freque cy, resistors are generally designated R, while C designates the capacitor coupling the output of transistor T1 to transistor T2. Connected in the collector-emitter circuit of transistor T2 are two high frequency coils HFCI and HFCZ. Antenna A1 is connected to the junction of coil HFCI, with the collector electrode of transistor T2, while antenna A2 is connected to the junction of coil HFCZ with the emitter electrode of transistor T2.

Closing of switch KS supplies unidirectional power from battery B to high frequency generator HFG. Crystal G oscillates at its characteristic frequency to produce an electrical high frequency signal which is amplified by transistor T1 and, in turn, second stage amplifier T2 to produce high frequency excitation of coils HFCI and HFCZ in the emitter-collector circuit of output transistor T 2. Such excitation provides a high frequency fie across wires a and b of each wire pair of antennae A1, A2. Because of the thin cross sectional area of such wires a, b such field is concentrated between adjacent wires of each pair, producing an intense high frequency field across each hair slit 14 FIG. 1). As the shaver runs guide plate 12 across his beard, hair enters hair slits 14 and comes into the influence of such high frequency field. The circuit components are selected so as to generate a field of suilicient intensity to cause such hair to be fused instantly close to the skin of the user.

As changes can be made in the above described construction and many apparently different embodiments of this invention can be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown on the accompanying drawing be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. An electric shaver comprising, a casing having a guide plate adapted for passage over the skin of the user, said guide plate having a plurality of hair receiving slits defined therein for receiving hair to be shaved; a like plurality of electrical wire pairs of relatively thin cross-sectional area, one pair being provided for each of said slits, the wires of each pair being electrically isolated from each other, said wire pairs being mounted behind said guide plate such that one wire of each pair is disposed adjacent one edge of an associated slit and the other wire of each pair is disposed adjacent the opposing edge of the associated slit, and high frequency generating means connected to said wire pairs and energizable for providing a high frequency field across each wire pair, said field being of suificient intensity to fuse hair entering said field through said slits.

2. An electric shaver comprising:

(a) a casing having a guide plate of rectangular configuration adapted for passage over the skin of the user;

(b) said guide plate having hair receiving slits disposed along the longitudinal axis thereof for receiving hair to be shaved;

(c) a plurality of electrical wires of relatively thin cross-sectional area arranged in pairs, one pair being provided for each of said slits, the wires of each pair being electrically isolated from each other;

-(d) said wire pairs being mounted behind said guide plate adjacent their respective associated slits in a manner such that for each slit the wires of the wire pair provided for each slit are mounted along oppositely disposed longitudinal edges of such slit; and

-(e) high frequency generating means connected to said wire pairs and energizable for providing a high frequency field across each wire pair, said field being of suflicient intensity to fuse hair entering said field through said slits.

3. An electric shaver comprising:

(a) a casing having a guide plate adapted for passage over the skin of the user;

(b) said guide plate having hair receiving slits defined therein for receiving hair to be shaved;

(c) a plurality of electrical wires of relatively thin .3: cross-sectional area arranged in pairs, one pair being provided for each of said slits, the Wires of each pair being electrically isolated from each other, said Wire pairs being mounted behind said guide plate adjacent their respective slits; and

((1) high frequency generating means connected to said wire pairs and energizab'le for providing a high frequency field across each wire pair, said field being of sufiicient intensity to fuse hair entering said field through said slits;

(c) said high frequency generating means includes a two stage, capacitor coupled transistor amplifier, and high frequency coils connected at the output of said amplifier and to said wire pairs.

4. An electric shaver comprising:

(a) a casing having a guide plate adapted for passage over the skin of the user;

(b) said guide plate having hair receiving slits defined therein for receiving hair to be shaved;

(c) a plurality of electrical wires of relatively thin cross-sectional area arranged in pairs, one pair being provided for each of said slits, the Wires of each pair being electrically isolated from each other, said wire 4; pairs being mounted behind said guide plate adjacent their respective slits; and (d) high frequency generating means connected to said Wire pairs and energizable for providing a high frequency field across each Wire pair, said field being of sufiicient intensity to fuse hair entering said field through said slits; (c) said high frequency generating means includes a quartz crystal oscillator providing an electrical signal at a preselected high frequency and means for amplifying said high frequency signal.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 15 1,493,014 5/24 :Boyle 120 42.07 1,841,968 1/32 Lowry .128303.l4 2,966,572 12/60 Hobbs 219-223 FOREIGN PATENTS 20 31,041 8/26 France,

(d st addition to No. 599,699

RICHARD M. WOOD, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN ELECTRIC SHAVER COMPRISING, A CASING HAVING A GUIDE PLATE ADAPTED FOR PASSAGE OVER THE SKIN OF THE USER, SAID GUIDE PLATE HAVING A PLURALITY OF HAIR RECEIVING SLITS DEFINED THEREIN FOR RECEIVING HAIR TO BE SHAVED; A LIKE PLURALITY OF ELECTRICAL WIRE PAIRS OF RELATIVELY THIN CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA, ONE PAIR BEING PROVIDED FOR EACH OF SAID SLITS, THE WIRES OF EACH PAIR BEING ELECTRICALLY ISOLATED FROM EACH OTHER, SAID WIRE PAIRS BEING MOUNTED BEHIND SAID GUIDE PLATE SUCH THAT ONE WIRE OF EACH PAIR IS DISPOSED ADJACENT ONE EDGE OF AN ASSOCIATED SLIT AND THE OTHER WIRE 